Double Play by Betsy Franco Monkeying Around with Addition

Brrriiiing! Recess time! Little chimps Jill and Jake find more than just their favorite games in the schoolyard today. They also discover the important mathematical concept of doubling, or adding a number to itself. Easy to learn and fun to memorize, doubling is a valuable problem-solving tool that helps kids prepare for multiplication. A must-have addition to any math-themed picture book library, Double Play makes this arithmetic lesson as welcome as recess.

BETSY FRANCO has written over 8 books for children and young adults, including picture books, poetry collections, novels, and nonfiction, such as the award-winning math title, Zero Is the Leaves on the Tree. Her books have received numerous accolades, notably the Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Honor, the Chicago Public Library's Best of the Best, a Cooperative Children's Book Center Choice, and a Bill Martin Jr. Picture Book Award nomination. DOUG CUSHMAN has illustrated and/or written over 100 books for children and collected a number of honors along the way, including a Reading Rainbow selection, a New York Times bestseller, and the New York Public Library's Best 100 Books of 2000.

Unrated Critic Reviews for Double Play

Kirkus Reviews

/ They’re upside-downside / circus stars,” proving “2 knees + 2 knees = 4 knees.” Children accustomed to the play-to-learn environment of today’s curriculum will cheerily join in the fun with this precursor to multiplication that extends the math lesson to the pleasures of physical activity.

Publishers Weekly

In this counting book about doubling numbers, monkeys Jill (in pink overalls) and Jake (in stripes) find all sorts of applications for math on the playground: "With just their knees,/ they grip the bars./ They're upside-downside/ circus stars.